Why is Kale deemed a “super food”, mainly because of its very nutritious profile. With its high levels of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, this green vegetable should most definitely be included in your diet. With any food group however, Kale should be eaten in moderation because eating large amounts of this green and leafy vegetable can cause bloating, gas and even constipation. Plus, conventionally produced Kale is known to contain numerous pesticides, so its best to buy organic Kale when possible.

Kale offers benefits for the brain, heart, bones, skin, and the hair. The nutritional properties of Kale have also been linked to lowering the risk of some cancers and even slow down the process of one developing diabetes. Incorporating this super food into your meals or snacking on Kale chips can improve one’s overall health and even help you maintain Healthy weight!

Check out these health Tips about Kale:

1. An Antioxidant Powerhouse: Kale is rich in sulfur, which produces glutathione, one of the most important antioxidants in the body. Kale also contains lutein and zeaxathin, which helps improve eyesight. Melissa Walshe, a writer for the Guiding Stars (a nutritional guidance program) states that Kale is great for protection from the sun due to these two antioxidants (lutein & zeaxathin) and because of these two disease busters can help lower the risk of Macular Degeneration.

2. Better to Eat with Something Else: Kale has so many benefits on its own but your body can benefit even more if you pair your Kale with other healthy foods. Healthy fats, such as olive oil, avocado, or almond butter and walnuts can combine with Kale to make fat-soluble carotenoids more available to the body.

3. Cancer-Prevention Benefits: An article that was published in the journal, Cancer Prevention Research noted that Kale contains very high levels of cancer-prevention properties such as gluosinolate phytonutrients. This can help protect against the development of tumors as well as block enzymes associated with cancer. This is according to the Cancer Letters journal.

4. Easily Adaptable: One of the neat things about Kale is that you can eat it at all times during the day. You can incorporate it into a breakfast omelet, a salad for lunch, and alongside your fish for dinner, even some Kale chips for a snack at night.

5. A Healthy Brain, Bones and Healthy Eyes: When it comes to a healthy Brain, Kale is packed with numerous flavonoids and Iron which helps reduce the risk for strokes and also helps carry oxygen to all cells in the body. The University of Maryland just released a study that said that 0-Mega 3 fatty acids found in Kale help improve Brain memory, function and overall performance. (one of many benefits of O-Mega 3’s) When it comes to having strong healthy bones, one cup of Kale has more calcium (the most abundant mineral in the body) than one cup of milk. “Kale is truly a nutritional powerhouse for the eyes because it contains high amounts of lutein, and zeaxanthin which are antioxidants found in the eyes and are needed to be replenished regularly for good eye sight and health” said Johanna Seddon, MD the Founding director of the Ophthalmic Epidemiology and Genetics Service at the New England Eye Center.

So after I researched Kale, I’ll be eating more of the power-packed vegetable myself!

Chip Sigmon CSCS* D, USAW, CMFT, RSCC*E, CISSN Fitness and Wellness Coordinator, Europa Sports Products